Vietnam forum

hi!

besides the bunks not being suitable to Westerners (were Asians so i think we'll fit fine), are there any things to look out for when catching night buses? are the night buses from Siem Reap to Saigon ok? safe?

thanks in advance for any reply

I have never taken one of those sleeperbusses but I will never consider it after what you reported. I have always traveled in a private car. I can verify those roads are very bumpy. Eidoos77.

I've got to disagree here. I'm 6'4" and thought the night buses were awesome--relatively speaking. If it's got to be a bus, I prefer the night buses. Private cars or even a good seat in some vans are better. Yes, I couldn't stretch out but could lie down with my knees bent, and turning to the side wasn't so bad. I struggled going back to the normal buses.

Granted, mine was a 5 hour trip from Saigon to Mui Ne, but it beat the regular bus where my knees are in the aisle or trying to straddle the seat in front of me--which doesn't work. Usually results in bruised knees and your feet not on the ground--knees suspended against the chair in front of you.

It might depend on the bus, but I thought mine was pretty comfy.

He he I thought you were ex US army, trained to be tough and survive in the most difficult environments this planet can throw at you Madmac? I guess you didn't travel much on the local buses in Ethiopia if you think Thai buses are bad!

I've never been to Vietnam or slept on one of the sleeper buses like the OP describes but I do agree with Busylizzy. Compared to some of the buses in Indonesia (or Burma) they don't sound too bad. I remember wondering if I'd ever walk again after having my legs totally immobilised for about 12 hours on a bus on Sumbawa. Crates of chickens chickens jammed under the seats and only just enough room to get your legs in sideways.

"He he I thought you were ex US army, trained to be tough and survive in the most difficult environments this planet can throw at you Madmac? I guess you didn't travel much on the local buses in Ethiopia if you think Thai buses are bad!"

SBE
When I was a young troop, trying to prove how tough I was by not wearing my rain gear during a storm while in the field, a tough, old grizzled Sergeant said to me: "Son, there are no supermen in this world. Just smart ones, and stupid ones. Not wearing your Army issue rain gear when it's raining qualifies as stupid." It is true that public transportation in Ethiopia sucks a lot. More than in Thailand by a long shot. But so what? The bus still sucks here too. Even the VIP night bus with a snack and a little hottie in a short skirt bringing you your beverage. Ten hours confined in a small space with very little to do (and with my luck a fat westerner taking up too much space next to me and having not showered the day previous to boot) is going to suck no matter how you slice it or dice it. Does it suck as much as, say, having Somali mlitia lob mortar rounds at your tent while you are trying to sleep? No. But it still sucks.

Not quite on topic as it relates to Laos but perhaps one of the coolest experiences of my travels was a 16hr bus trip from Luang Prabang in Laos to Huay Xai in the Thailand. We could have taken a plane but it seemed like a way to see Laos that we would not have been open to us otherwise. It was an overnight trip, so we thought we’d save on a night’s accommodation to boot. As we sat at the front of the bus, we were joined by locals alone. Not a single LP devotee in sight. They looked at us with the vaguest hint of surprise which, in a sense, was rather satisfying - yes, we’re crazy enough to take this bus too, I wanted to say. The bus, a battered, bullet-ridden, relic being driven by a diminutive fellow reeking of booze and with a head dotting from side to side in an alarming way, got us there noisily, slowly, terrifyingly and, yet, wonderfully. Yes, we froze and stuffed discarded newspaper and plastic bags into our clothes as we were seated by a broken window, at over 2,000m (Suunto Vector altimeter watch on my wrist), in the dead of night. And yes, there were moments where we wondered if buses such as this disappeared over mountain ravines. Yet, as we wound our way, on tiny, cliff-side roads, into the mountains, the moon cast a supernatural blue velvet blanket across the mountainside. We could see the jungle canopy below us and rocky, dusty mountainous terrain ahead of us. We passed tiny hamlets dotted along the mountain road with the Lao still sitting and drinking under a single light. It was invigorating (well, that could well have been the cold). Several times we stopped and had a break at a roadside camp alongside other buses and trucks, also replete with weary passengers. We ate local food as, simply put, there was nothing else - we would have anyway, but taking a route like this meant there was no Pokhara pizza or Khao San Road burgers to be had. Often, another driver, usually young boys, too young to have a girlfriend, but old enough to take regular tokes on American cigarettes, would take over. Several times these apprentices took us close to the edge of the abyss as their Lao Beer swilling mentor snoozed off his dipsomanic stupor, until he would awake and take over. Sleep for us was not an option for more than half an hour at a time. Eventually, as dawn’s early light heralded arrival of morning, we pulled into the final stop and dutifully (and sleepily) awaited leave to exit Laos, head down to the river and cross into Thailand.

It was a cracking journey!!

Madmac: I would concur - it's not everyone's idea of fun (not sure I described it as "fun") and at the time, it was somewhat hair-raising but looking back, it really was an experience and even bad or challenging ones can be filed under "worthwhile"!! It's simply something that I'll never forget.

Exacto
Again, we find ourselves in violent agreement.

Journeyman
"It's simply something that I'll never forget."

Kind of like me being attacked with mortars by Somali militiamen. It was definitely part of the experience and I will definitely not forget it.

I'm glad you had a good time though. SEA is funny that way. I have a lot of fun here even if it can be labelled as "unconventional".

We took an Open Tour bus from Ninh Binh to Hue that was hell on earth. No space, horns blazing, no curtains etc...take the train in future...

Posted from within Vietnam.

I'm a small guy and I HATED that trip! It not just the cramped conditions. It's the bumpy road, the extra loud tv, and the constant honking (what is he honking at? There's no one else on the road?)

For any bus trip longer than 5h, TRAIN OR FLY IT.

...less than 5 hours on a bus.

(Strange, part of what I wrote in my previous post didn't work.... I wonder whether using a "less than" sign causes anything written after it to disappear? Scuse me while I just do a wee test...

I think MADMAC makes an extra great point about breaking up those long trips that might otherwise require an overnight bus trip into two (or more) shorter trips. I've had some really great fun that I otherwise would have missed in places like Kamphaeng Phet and Phitsanulok by making a stop instead of rushing on.

Again, for me it is an issue of safety more than comfort, and I don't like taking overnight buses because of the risk of a crash. But I also understand that sometimes it is the only option that fits your schedule. If you wind up having to take the overnight but, definitely get the best bus possible. This isn't the time to save a bit of money on your ticket. In Thailand, for example, there are VIP buses that run with only 24 seats instead of the standard 40 seats. They tend to cost about twice as much as the regular bus, but for those extra long hauls they are definitely worth the money.

Getting off a bus after 5 hours is certainly an option but it doesn't necessarily make the trip any safer or any more comfortable. Also if you're on a tight budget it can add to transport costs because there's often a fixed fare for any particular bus route... passengers pay the same regardless of where they get off.

Couple of years back I went from Rantepao to Poso when I was on Sulawesi (Indonesia). This journey took about 17 hours when I did it but it can be a lot longer, depends on the state of the road. Last year that same trip was taking 35+ hours because of a lengthy deviation due to landslides on the usual route. (There aren't that many alternative roads to chose from in central Sulawesi).

I did check out all the bus companies in Rantepao because I knew it was going to be a very long and tiring bus trip. I was quite prepared to pay extra if there was a comfortable bus option available. No such luck, all the companies used the same kind of clapped out bone-shakers. This was going to be one of those non A/C, blaring music, honking horn jobs complete with Indonesian men chain smoking for the duration. (Anti smoking laws on public transport haven't quite caught on yet in Indonesia and practically all the men smoke)

The only "VIP" option was to hire a private car and driver and that was way too expensive for me.

Sure I could have broken up the long bus journey if I'd wanted to, but the benefits of doing so didn't seem very obvious to me.

1. I'd still have had to get back on the exact same buses for the onward journey... ie it changed nothing as far as safety/risk of an accident was concerned. Just because I'd got off and had a rest didn't mean the drivers were any less tired.

2. The buses were always very full. Getting off before my final destination would have meant waiting for ages by the side of the road until a bus passed by with enough standing room for another passenger. There's practically no chance you'd actually get a seat for the rest of the journey.

We took one overnight train and one overnight bus in our 5 month trip through SE Asia last year and I can't say I'd recommend either.

We took the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue and it was relatively comfortable if you ignored the cockroaches and the fact that it felt like the train was hitting speed bumps every few minutes.

We also took the VIP bus from Pakse to Vientiane and this was worse (tho my wife would argue the train was worse mostly due to the cockroaches). The beds would be comfortable for two small children but for two normal sized adults they were terribly short and narrow.

We luckily weren't on any kind of time crunch so didn't mind taking day bus/trains for most of the trip. I like seeing the countryside as well which you obviously don't get on a night trip.

I found with the night trips we were so exhausted the next day from lack of sleep that the day was basically a write off.

Posted from within Vietnam.

ok, looks like I have to state the obvious:

For any bus trip longer than 5h, train or fly it (IF AVAILABLE AND DOESNT COST MUCH MORE)